Police were called to the 700-block of Johnson Street Monday morning after a woman reported she found a hypodermic needle placed in a planter, with the needle sticking up. The woman was not pricked this time, but told police she had been pricked while gardening sometime in the previous week.

In that instance she told police the needle had been placed in another planter in the same area. VicPD says the woman sought medical attention at that time.

VicPD say in this case, the needle appeared to have been deliberately placed in the planter.

This is the third time someone has been pricked by a needle in downtown Victoria already in 2018. Last year there were at least two other cases of needles deliberately placed to injure unknowing people.

In June, the City of Victoria alerted media that a security guard patrolling a downtown parkade had found a hypodermic needle taped to the underside of a stairwell hand railing, and a few months later a syringe was found inside a parking dispenser where you would reach in to grab your ticket.